The Siege of Gia Định was a major attack of the Second French Empire in Southeast Asia in 1858 and 1859. Eventually, Gia Định would be conquered on February 17, 1859. The conquest of the city was the start of the colonization of the area of what later became Cochin-China and, later, the Union of Indochina would be called. Gia Định lay where there is now Bình Thạnh, one of the districts of the municipality of Ho Chi Minh City.
The siege was performed by Admiraal Charles Rigault de Genouilly on behalf of Napoleon III, after earlier Charles de Montigny had attempted. However, he did not succeed. Rigault de Genouilly had fourteen warships with 1000 infantry of the French Navy. There were also 1,000 Spanish troops from the Philippines. These troops landed at Đà Nẵng in September 1858, after this city was conquered, the troops pulled south.
The conquest of Gia Định was essential, because from here the mobs of Nam Kỳ, like the country, were mobilized. After the siege, the colonization of the area was much easier by the French.
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